15-Nov-2016After the Nobel Prize, what do you do for an encore?
Brownian motion makes it difficult for scientists to examine single protein molecules. W.E. Moerner, who had previously won the Nobel prize in chemistry, started tackling this issue in 2004. He and his team developed the ABEL Trap, which allows researchers to corral single molecules for study. Since then, scientists have used the trap to study proteins involved in photosynthesis and other major biological systems.

14-Nov-2016The search for dark matter
Researchers have been attempting to measure dark matter for more than three decades, but have yet to detect a dark matter particle. Through experiments both deep underground like LUX and LUX-ZEPLIN and in space like the AMS, researchers are narrowing the field of search.

11-Nov-2016Nanotechnology manager elected president of Materials Research Society
Senior manager Sean Hearne, who leads the Center of Integrated Nanotechnology (CINT) for Sandia National Laboratories, has been elected president of the Materials Research Society. MRS is an international organization that promotes interdisciplinary materials research with 15,000 members from academia, industry and national labs.

11-Nov-2016PPPL senior physicist Wei-li Lee honored at week-long symposium
Physicists from around the world gathered at the University of California, Irvine this past summer for a symposium in honor of Wei-li Lee, a senior physicist at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).

3-Nov-2016Peering into batteries: X-rays reveal lithium-ion's mysteries
Scientists are using x-rays from the national laboratories' advanced light sources to study the movement and structure of lithium-ion batteries in real time, as the batteries function. This technique led to the development of the cathode used in the Chevrolet Volt and is now being used to further improve our understanding of batteries.

12-Oct-2016Planetarium show brings 'phantom' matter to life
A new planetarium show is designed to immerse audiences in the search for dark matter, which we have so far detected only through its gravitational effects though it makes up most of the mass of the universe.

12-Oct-2016Former Fermilab researcher Sekazi Mtingwa to share 2017 Wilson Prize
Theoretical physicist Sekazi Mtingwa, a former Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory scientist, will share the 2017 Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators for groundbreaking theoretical work that helped researchers understand and cope with an important constraint on the intensity and focus of particle beams in accelerators.

7-Oct-2016Q&A: SLAC cosmology research featured in Terrence Malick's 'Voyage of Time'
Terrence Malick's science documentary 'Voyage of Time' features two scenes contributed by visualization expert Ralf Kaehler and astrophysicist Tom Abel from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), a joint institute of Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

7-Oct-2016Still no 'sterile' neutrinos, but the search goes on
Reports of the non-existence of the so-called 'sterile' neutrino are premature, say scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory -- even as they release results from two experiments that further limit the places this elusive particle may be hiding.

7-Oct-2016Hunting the nearly un-huntable
Scientists on two neutrino experiments -- the MINOS experiment at Fermilab and the Daya Bay experiment in China -- have presented results that limit the places where sterile neutrinos might be hiding.

8-Sep-2016PPPL intern creates software for snapshot of plasma in NSTX-U
Max Wallace, a an intern at the US Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory this summer, is a former Silicon Valley programmer who spent his summer developing a computer program that can give scientists a quick snapshot of individual plasma experiments or 'shots' in PPPL's $94 million National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U).

1-Sep-2016Blowing bubbles to catch carbon dioxide
Sandia and UNM researchers developed a bio-inspired bubble-like membrane to capture CO2 from coal-fired power plants efficiently. The CO2 Memzyme could capture CO2 equivalent to planting 63 million trees and letting them grow for 10 years from just one power plant.

30-Aug-2016Sandia experts, students explore mechanical challenges at summer institute
Nearly 40 students ranging from local high school youths to international postdoctoral fellows gathered this summer at Sandia National Laboratories' Nonlinear Mechanics and Dynamics (NOMAD) Summer Research Institute to study two steel bars bolted together. This deceptively simple system behaves in odd -- nonlinear -- ways, which has important implications for bridges, cars, even airplanes.

29-Aug-2016Poof! The weird case of the X-ray that came out blank
Imagine getting a medical X-ray that comes out blank -- as if your bones had vanished. That's what happened when scientists cranked up the intensity of the world's first X-ray laser, at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, to get a better look at a sample they were studying: The X-rays seemed to go right through it as if it were not there.

23-Aug-2016Neutrino experiments utilize ORNL experts, equipment to explore the unknown
This year the field of neutrino physics is full of enthusiasm as three significant experiments with different goals gear up to advance our understanding of neutrino physics. All three experiments benefit from expertise and facilities at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

12-Aug-2016Fermi researchers explore new ways of searching for dark matter
Researchers working with more than six years of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have used novel approaches to search for cosmic signals that could reveal what mysterious dark matter is made of. The scientists looked for hypothetical axion particles, studied the gamma-ray emissions from a large satellite galaxy of our Milky Way and analyzed the faint glow of gamma rays that covers the entire sky.

The Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.